Behavioral Skills Training to Improve the Abduction-Prevention Skills of Children with Autism
Three quick BST sessions teach kids with autism to refuse, move away, and report stranger lures.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Four children with autism, took part.
Each child got three one-hour BST sessions.
Trainers used instructions, modeling, practice, and praise to teach three steps: say "No," step back, and tell an adult.
The team tested the kids with a stranger who offered candy or asked for help finding a lost dog.
Probes happened in the clinic, at a park, and at a grocery store.
What they found
After BST, every child used all three safety steps in every place.
Skills stayed strong one and three months later.
Parents said their kids now used the steps in real life, too.
How this fits with other research
Bergstrom et al. (2012) used the same BST steps to teach three boys with autism to ask store workers for help when lost.
The new study adds the "say no, step back, report" chain for abduction lures.
Crosbie (1993) also used BST, but taught deaf children with delays to greet and take turns.
Together, the papers show BST works for many skills across diagnoses.
Why it matters
You can teach life-saving safety skills in just three short sessions.
Use the same four-part BST package you already know: tell, show, let them try, and praise.
Practice in many places so the skill travels.
One afternoon of work can cut the risk of abduction for your learners with autism.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Pick one learner, set up a 5-minute role play with a fake lure, and praise every correct "No, I have to go" response.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
A concurrent multiple baseline across participants design evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on abduction-prevention skills of four children with autism. Across phases, confederates presented four types of abduction lures: (a) simple requests, (b) appeals to authority, (c) assistance requests, and (d) incentives. During baseline, lures resulted in children leaving with confederate strangers. During intervention, BST targeted a three-step response (i.e., refuse, move away, and report) and the abduction-prevention skills of all participants improved. Improvements generalized to novel settings and confederates and were maintained at 4 weeks. There is currently limited research on abduction-prevention pertaining to individuals with ASD. BST can be used to teach abduction-prevention skills to individuals with ASD. BST can be effective at teaching appropriate responses to multiple types of abduction lures. The effects of BST on multiple responses to multiple types of lures can generalize across settings and people and maintain over time.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2016 · doi:10.1007/s40617-016-0128-x